The incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the United States has increased by 75.1% between 1973 and 1992 (Kosary et al., SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1973-1992: Tables and Graphs, National Cancer Institute, NIH Publication No 96-2789, Bethesda, Md.: NIH 1995), a percentage increase exceeded only by that for prostate cancer, lung cancer in women, and melanoma.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLB-CL) is the most common non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in adults. Although DLB-CL is curable in approximately 40% of patients, the majority of patients progress and die of their disease (Shipp et al. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas. In DeVita (ed): Principles and Practice of Oncology, 5th Edition, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company. pp. 2165-2220, 1997). Additional advancements in the treatment of this aggressive but potentially curable non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are likely to require a more precise understanding of the disease's cellular and molecular bases.
A novel gene termed “B-aggressive lymphoma” (BAL), was found to be significantly more abundant in tumors from patients with “high-risk (HR)” (International Prognostic Index, IPI) fatal disease than in tumors from cured “low risk (LR [IPI])” patients.